When Samantha Hayes broke her back horse riding, she feared her passion for the animals would have to come to an end.

Unable to ride, unable to teach she struggled to see what she would do with her life after almost 20 years in the saddle.

But today, although still limited by her injuries, the 43-year-old mum is using her love of horses to help comfort sick and dying children in the hospice, dementia patients in care and school pupils with special needs.

Because Samantha has managed to find and train two little therapy horses who are able to nuzzle in for cuddles and even allow smaller children to lie on them for relaxation therapy.

These little creatures who are so small they clop around her house, join the family on the settee to watch TV and even wear Build-A-Bear shoes to stop them from skidding on shiny floors when they are volunteering.

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Summer, four, and one-year-old Midnight, who live in a three-bedroom semi in Dundonald on the outskirts of Belfast, have come a long way from their native home of Argentina.

The pure bred Falabella horses are tiddlers and Summer who is fully grown is only 32 inches tall.

She eats just 50 grammes of food a day, is fully house-trained, bite trained and just loves a cuddle.

Midnight, who is just a year old on Tuesday, is heading in the same direction but has taken a break from therapy training during puberty because he has his mind on other things.

Samantha said: “We have only recently got Midnight and I think he’ll be great but he needs to get his head together before we can resume training. He is having surgery Tuesday to be gelded. It’s not the nicest birthday present for a boy but it means he will be able to live a very normal life and be a therapy horse. He’s already done 15 visits and will resume once he is back to full health after his operation.

“So in the meantime we take Summer to all the visits and she is a wonderful little horse.

Samantha Hayes training Midnight her therapy horse

“It was always my dream to work with horses and I trained as a professional riding instructor and worked for 20 years with my BHSAI qualifications.

“But a series of falls over the years had caused me a lot of damage and the pain was getting progressively worse. Finally a diagnosis six years ago left me in a real state. My back was actually broken back, I needed a lot of surgery and I was told getting back in the saddle would leave me paralysed and needing a wheelchair.

“I was devasated. I could see my life falling apart and I thought I’d never manage to get back to my love of horses because the pain I had to deal with meant it was just too much to combine the two.”

Samantha, and her husband Keith, 44, from Belfast, was also dealing with a complicated diagnosis with her son Brad, 11.

He has ADHD, Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder, Aspergers Syndrome and CIP Disorder – chronic insensitivity to pain - which means he literally feels no physical pain no matter the injury.

Samantha said: “We have a lovely dog called Poppy and I found Brad seemed more settled around her and I wondered what he would be like with a horse of our own.

“After a bit of research we found Summer in Omagh who was being sold by a sheep farmer.

Samantha and Keith Hayes' son Brad with therapy horse Summer, at their home in Dundonald

“The moment we met her I knew she was right and we popped her in the back of the car and she just travelled like that with her head on my husband’s shoulder. She was very calm and not at all upset by the journey.

“And when she met Brad for the first time we knew we had struck gold. She just seemed to automatically love him and she nuzzled into him and licked his face. This was all before we had done any training.

“Summer was house trained within four weeks and she is brilliant, never messing in the house and she knows the rules although she does spill all the cushions around looking for sweets.

“I bite-trained her so she knows not to bite or nip, and she is such a gentle girl but she is great fun too and loves to play with a football in the paddock.”

The paddock is at the rear of the Hayes family home.

Summer and Midnight are not off-loaded from their horse box and walked around the house to tables like a normal horse.

Instead they are walked through the front door, down the hall and along the kitchen to the back door.

They have warm, secure sheds at the rear of the house and the neighbours have great fun watching them being trained.

And thanks to two local companies, JM Grassland and Blue Frog, Summer had her hay sponsored and her bedding is a special dust free version that means she will not carry any dust into hospitals or homes.

Samantha said: “The sponsorships of the food and the beeding has been amazing becasue it allows us to do all of our visits for free without worrying about those particular costs.

"People are very generous and when they hear about our volunteering, they want to help.

"And although it was something that I didn't feel was odd, I know a lot of people thought we were mad bringing a horse into our home.

"When Summer first arrived one of our neighbours was very concerned and we had a call from an animal welfare officer who came to see what we were up to. Now all the neighbours know about out therapy horses and everyone is very supportive.

“Like therapy dogs, Summer knows when she is working and when she gets her harness on or her little coat, she gets serious.

“We go to the children’s hospice and we go to nursing homes and special needs schools, including Brad’s, and the delight on people’s faces is wonderful.

“Summer seems to instinctively know when people are at crisis point. We have visited a number of children and adults who are near the end of their lives and I know for a fact she has given them great comfort.

“She is very gentle, we make sure she has her Build-A-Bear shoes on so her hooves don’t make a noise on the floor and she will do directly to the person she is visiting.

“There’s definitely a connection between them. I have seen a change in people with my own eyes, they either relax or perk up. She brings them a love that is pure, not tainted by life and stress or anything else life throws at us, just love.

“There is one lady at the nursing home who has dementia and she just loves a cuddle with Summer and Summer loves it too.

“It’s wonderful to see how we make these connections with animals and the connections improve our lives. My son Brad is growing into a wonderful young man and is learning about unconditional love, responsibility, practical care and all sorts of things that might not be so easy without the horses.

“And we know the patients Summer goes to see get great benefit from her visits and she loves them too.

“Now we are looking forward to getting Midnight trained up when he is ready and he will bring a whole new aspect to our visits.”

The visits Samantha organises are free of charge but she asks anyone who can to support one of her five chosen charities: Tiny Life, Northern Ireland’s Chidlren’s Hospice, Mencap, Angel wishes and Bandana for the Brave.